Vegetarian Picadillo

Vegetarian Picadillo

When I was a kid Nina would make this and use it as a dip with Fritos at a party. But it is also a dish by itself. You can serve it with rice or use it to fill a poblano or just a tortilla. 

There are as many recipes for Picadillo as there are cooks who make it, but for this one I have used TVP instead of meat. TVP is usually found in the health food area or maybe near the weird grains. Bob’s Red Mills sells it pre-packaged. Some stores sell it in the bulk foods. It looks like brown crumbles. 1 cup of TVP rehydrated with two cups of the liquid of your choice is the equivalent of 1 lb of ground meat. 

Time: 2 hours

Yield: 6-8 servings, over rice

Ingredients:

1 cup TVP

2 cups broth – I like Better Than Bouillon – Chipotle for this

1 lg poblano pepper, chopped

1 lg red bell pepper, chopped

1 med onion, diced

6-7 garlic cloves, minced

6-8 mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 can Ro-tel Tomatoes (spice level of your choice)

1 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

2 tbs chili powder

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs Mexican oregano

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 cup red wine

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup craisins or dates, chopped

1 can sliced black olives, drained

1 can water chestnuts, diced

Instructions:

Pour warm Bouillon over the TVP and allow to soak for an hour. 

Put the olive oil into a large skillet and add “meat”, peppers, onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are tender.

 Add the tomatoes, sauce and paste along with the next four ingredients. Add the wine and simmer until most of the liquid is cooked out. 

Add the craisins, olives and water chestnuts and cook another 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

This freezes well. I usually put some in a zip top bag for future use. Be sure to label it because when its frozen it looks just like spaghetti sauce or chili.